Abraham Joshua Heschel

<p>In this first one-volume English-language full biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel Edward K. Kaplan tells the engrossing behind-the-scenes story of the life philosophy struggles yearnings writings and activism of one of the twentieth century's most outstanding Jewish thinkers.</p><p>Kaplan takes readers on a soulful journey through the rollercoaster challenges and successes of Heschel's emotional life. As a child he was enveloped in a Hasidic community of Warsaw then he went on to explore secular Jewish Vilna and cosmopolitan Berlin. He improvised solutions to procure his doctorate in Nazi-dominated Berlin escaped the Nazis and secured a rare visa to the United States. He articulated strikingly original interpretations of Jewish ideas. His relationships spanned not only the Jewish denominational spectrum but also Catholic and Protestant faith communities. A militant voice for nonviolent social action he marched with Martin Luther King Jr. (who became a close friend) expressed strong opposition to the Vietnam War (while the FBI compiled a file on him) and helped reverse long-standing antisemitic Catholic Church doctrine on Jews (participating in a secret meeting with Pope Paul VI during Vatican II).</p><p>From such prodigiously documented stories Heschel himself emerges--mind heart and soul. Kaplan elucidates how Heschel remained forever torn between faith and anguish; between love of God and abhorrence of human apathy moral weakness and deliberate evil; between the compassion of the Baal Shem Tov of Medzibozh and the Kotzker <em>rebbe</em>'s cruel demands for truth. My heart Heschel acknowledged is in Medzibozh my mind in Kotzk.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Edward K. Kaplan </strong>is Kevy and Hortense Kaiserman Professor in the Humanities Emeritus at Brandeis University. He is the author of numerous books including <em>Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America 1940-1972</em>; winner of the National Jewish Book Award; and coauthor with Samuel H. Dresner of <em>Abraham Joshua Heschel: Prophetic Witness</em>.</p><p><br></p>